Student Killed, Teacher Injured in Oregon School Shooting

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PORTLAND, Oregon – A shooter opened fire at a suburban Portland, Oregon, high school Tuesday morning, killing one male student, authorities said.

The gunman, who officials said used a rifle, is also dead.

Police say the situation at Reynolds High School in Troutdale was “stabilized” an hour after initial calls came in at 8:07 a.m. local time, just as the school day was beginning.

One student told NBC affiliate KGW he heard two gunshots and then saw the gunman, who was not wearing a mask, chasing a physical education teacher Todd Rispler down a hall. The teacher was grazed on the hip but is OK, KGW reported.

“I was really scared, and I wanted to get with my family,” the student said.

Freshman Daniel DeLong, 15, also said he saw a gym teacher, presumably Rispler, with a bloodied shirt.

“This is a very tragic day, one that I had hoped would never, ever be part of my experience,” said Linda Florence, the Reynolds School District superintendent.

Troutdale Police Chief Scott Anderson said at an afternoon news conference that one teacher suffered non-life threatening injuries and was treated at the scene.

None of the casualties involved have been publicly identified.

During the shooting, a number of emergency vehicles surrounded the school, and the facility was placed on lockdown. SWAT teams have been moving from room to room to take students out safely — a process that could take two hours before every child is reunited with their parents, officials said.

Anderson stressed that this was a “lone gunman” situation but did note that, unrelated to the shooting, “during the evacuation process, a gun was found on one person.” That person was taken into custody.

One student who was reunited with his mom felt relief, and said “it feels good to be back with her.” He said there was chaos in his classroom after a lockdown was announced over the intercom.

“No one knew what was going on,” he continued. “We all went to the back of the classroom.”

Troutdale Mayor Doug Dauoust said reports of gunfire were called in as the teachers and students were arriving to start the school day.

“This has been a very unsettling day for our precious city,” said Dauoust. “I’m very impressed with how the police handled this whole operation. I think going through a dry run a few months ago helped.”

Students have final exams Tuesday and Wednesday, the last days of the school year, and some had yet to arrive to school for the morning.

Troutdale is a suburb of about 16,000 people east of Portland on the banks of the Columbia River. Reynolds High is one of the state’s largest, with more than 2,600 students.

“This shouldn’t happen in Troutdale,” Max Maydew, a grandfather of two Reynolds High School students, told The Oregonian. “You don’t expect something like that to happen in your hometown.”